No incisive rugby analysis here. I’m just excited with ten days to the RWC.
I plan to enjoy the whole tournament and not to focus on my concerns about the All Blacks. Four years has been a long time to wait and I’ve learnt that I need to make the most of enjoying such infrequent events - COVID doomsayers showed the futility of getting downhearted about things we can’t control. So I hope to enjoy every game I watch without feeling disappointed even if the All Blacks are kicked out in pool play.
I get the impression that hardly anybody is confident that the All Blacks can win the RWC. The McCaw era was amazing for us, as was the Gregan era for Australia. It is difficult to see a return to such dominating heights for either national team but I remain confident that the All Blacks will win this tournament. While a horrifying loss to Italy is a possibility, it would take a great Italian game plan to make that a reality.
My expectations aren’t threatened by the unpredictable nature of such tournaments which can swing on the impact of small differences as much as it does on predictions based on past performances: we could win or lose based on injuries, diet (including food poisoning), media distractions, unexpected game results that change the expected opponents, player brain-fade, choosing the wrong studs, etc. I’m choosing to expect these things to work out for us.
It is also possible that the tournament final will follow the result of the first game. A boost in confidence might be all the All Blacka and us supporters need. It will be interesting to see if I can maintain a positive expectation if we lose that first game.